Steadfast in a Multiform Tradition: émpedos and asphalḗs in Homer and Beyond Master s Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University Graduate Program in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies Leonard Muellner, Advisor In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Master s Degree by Claudia Filos February 2013
Copyright by Claudia P. Filos 2013
Acknowledgements I would like to thank my family, friends, and colleagues for their support as I worked on this project and this degree. In particular I would like to acknowledge the following individuals who offered their constant encouragement: my circle of friends including Jennifer Flynn, Susan Hacker, Laura Knight, Stephanie McGowan, and Elizabeth Lenart; my cousin Catherine Kahrs; my siblings Mary Kay Filos, Andrea Mondello, and Robert Filos; my other parents Donna and Sandy Favazza; my husband Thomas Favazza for his love, generosity, and amazing sense of humor; and my beautiful children Maggie and Xander for their laughter, love, and patience. I wish to acknowledge the generous financial support of the Center for German and European Studies at Brandeis University for a grant that partially funded my first visit to Greece in April 2011. This thesis was greatly enriched by that experience. I am also grateful to the faculty and staff of the Classics Department of Brandeis University for the warm intellectual home they provided: Heidi McAllister, Patricia Johnston, Cheryl Walker, Ann O. Koloski-Ostrow, Andrew Koh. Cheryl Walker, James McDonough, and an anonymous reader, all read this work in its entirety at crucial moments. Each provided insightful comments, corrections and iii
suggestions for improvement. This work was greatly improved by their time and talents. Any remaining errors are my own. I am particularly blessed to count the following brilliant and inspirational readers among my teachers: Doreen Ross, Graeme Bird, and Gregory Nagy. Each supported and inspired my love of poetry at a different time, but I benefit from them all each time I read. Above all, I am happy to have this opportunity to thank Leonard C. Muellner who patiently encouraged and guided my twenty year odyssey from alpha to M.A. I benefited immeasurably from countless hours spent discussing beautiful poetry with him and from his feedback on multiple versions of this thesis. Most of all, I am grateful to him for my love of Homer, his well-timed questions and endless encouragement, and for setting me on this path of bliss. iv
ABSTRACT Steadfast in a Multiform Tradition: émpedos and asphalḗs in Homer and Beyond A thesis presented to the Graduate Program in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University Waltham, Massachusetts By Claudia P. Filos This Homeric word study of émpedos and asphalḗs offers the first comprehensive investigation of steadfastness in the ancient Greek mytho-poetic system. Prompted by the idea expressed in the name Empedokles, this work attempts to describe the potential relationship between steadfastness and kléos, poetic fame. Using formulaic and contextual analysis to consider every occurrence of émpedos in Homer and drawing generously upon supplemental evidence from other authors and traditions, this work seeks to rebuild the social, mythical, and poetic concepts of steadfastness from an internal perspective. We find that the use of émpedos and asphalḗs reflects traditional Indo-European concepts of stability that are highly appropriate to a system based on multiformity and composition-in-performance. Evidence also shows that these words v
are appropriate to metapoetic and metapragmatic discussions of stability. Thus, the name Empedokles offers a highly relevant perspective on the nature of poetic glory, and concepts of steadfastness become crucial to our understanding of this multiform tradition. The foundation of this study is an understanding of the metaphors associated with these terms and close readings of the contexts in which they occur. This analysis leads to refined definitions. Specifically, this work argues that émpedos and asphalḗs denote a steady, continual, and even ritually appropriate state, and that these terms are equally appropriate to describe subjects that are steadfastly fixed in place or steadfastly kinetic. Further, émpedos and asphalḗs are explicitly associated with subjects that switch from one steadfast state to another. These findings develop through analysis focused on several topics: the idea of perishable fame, the stability of Zeus' divine authority vs. the instability of human prosperity, the steadfastness of scepter bearers, the value of steadfast strength and intelligence, descriptions of charioteering and homecoming, and the pairing of steadfastness in epic couples such as Odysseus and Penelope. Uniting the esthetics of rigidity and fluidity with the careful balance of incitement and restraint, the study of émpedos and asphalḗs reveals a single aesthetic principle stabilizing the vi
Homeric cosmos, from the progression of individual lines of poetry, to the fixed path and endless motion of the stars and moon above. vii
Table of Contents Introduction: Homeric Epic as *émpedon kléos!...!1! Chapter 1 The Diction of Steadfastness: émpedos and asphalḗs in Homer, Hesiod, and Herodotus!...!11! 1.1 Preliminary Definitions and Built-in Metaphors... 11 1.2 Herodotean Concerns... 15 1.3 Homeric Metaphor: Laying an émpedos Foundation... 22 Chapter 2 Steadfast Thrones and Scepters!...!33! 2.1 Émpedos, asphalḗs, and the Steadfastness of Scepter-bearers... 33 2.2 The Formula hédos asphalès aieí... 35 2.3 The Steadfast Scepter of Poets, Seers, and Heralds... 48 2.4 Steadfast and Appropriate Honor... 54 Chapter 3 Steadfast Strength and Steadfast Intelligence!...!62! 3.1 Ménon émpedon, with émpedon in the fourth foot... 62 3.2 Maintaining Steadfast Strength and Intelligence... 65 3.3 Wishing for Youthful Strength... 67 3.4 Rebuking Inappropriate Thoughts... 70 viii
Chapter 4 Poetic Fame, Steadfast Fame!...!76! 4.1 Kinetic Fame... 76 4.2 Steadfast Fame: Transferring the Metaphor... 81 Chapter 5 Steadfast Is the Warp, Steadfast Is the Weft: émpedos and the couples of the Odyssey and Argonautica.!...!99! 5.1 The Odyssey: Penelope as Warp, Odysseus as Weft... 100 5.2 Jason and Medea... 105 Chapter 6 On Not Being émpedos and the Metapoetic Destruction of the Achaean Wall!...!111! 6.1 Reornamenting the Epic Landscape... 111 Appendix!...!123! Table 1: Subjects and Actions Described as Being émpedos.... 123 Table 2: Subjects and Actions Described as or Implied to Be Not émpedos... 126 Table 3: Partial Formulaic Analysis of émpedos ( )... 127 Table 4: Comparison: Localization of Generic Dactylic Word vs. émpedos... 131 Table 5: Localization of émpedos in Homeric Epic, by Case and Location... 132 Bibliography!...!137! ix
Ἑλένης μὲν ταύτην ἄπιξιν παρὰ Πρωτέα ἔλεγον οἱ ἱρέες γενέσθαι. Δοκέει δέ μοι καὶ Ὅμηρος τὸν λόγον τοῦτον πυθέσθαι ἀλλ', οὐ γὰρ ὁμοίως ἐς τὴν ἐποποιίην εὐπρεπὴς ἦν, τῷ ἑτέρῳ τῷ περ ἐχρήσατο, [ἐς ὃ] μετῆκε αὐτόν. The priests say that this is the way Helen came to Proteus. And it seems to me that Homer was aware of this version of the story, but since it wasn t as appropriate to the epic poem as the other version that he used, he released it. Herodotus, Histories 2.116.1 6 1 οὐχ ὁράᾳς ὅτι δ' αὖτε κάρη κομόωντες Ἀχαιοὶ τεῖχος ἐτειχίσσαντο νεῶν ὕπερ, ἀμφὶ δὲ τάφρον ἤλασαν, οὐδὲ θεοῖσι δόσαν κλειτὰς ἑκατόμβας; τοῦ δ' ἤτοι κλέος ἔσται ὅσον τ' ἐπικίδναται ἠώς τοῦ δ' ἐπιλήσονται τὸ ἐγὼ καὶ Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων ἥρῳ Λαομέδοντι πολίσσαμεν ἀθλήσαντε. Don t you see that once again the flowing-haired Achaeans built a wall inland of the ships, and drove around it a ditch, and in no way gave glorious hecatombs to the gods? Surely the fame of this will last as long as the dawn is scattered, and they will forget that wall which I and Phoebus Apollo, struggling, built for the hero Laomedon. Iliad 7.448 453 1 Translations by author, unless noted otherwise. This translation is based in part on the translation of Andrea L. Purvis in Strassler 2007:166 167. x
Introduction Homeric Epic as *émpedon kléos The overriding pressure upon the oral poet composing in performance is to express the themes of a song with multiformity appropriate to the occasion. A "variation esthetic" in the context of such composition simultaneously promotes both the preservation of traditional, fixed elements as well as innovative variations in diction and theme. 2 Assuming that a skilled singer is interacting with an audience steeped in tradition, both innovations and fixed elements are equally appropriate to the moment of performance. This esthetic of variation is crucial because within a thriving oral tradition an individual performance is definitive and perfectly appropriate to its occasion, yet inevitably unable to express the totality of information associated with any specific song tradition. Meaning is derived from how the poet artistically selects and weaves together multiform constituent elements, and even how one multiform compares to other multiforms in the poetic tradition. The possibilities are immense and both singer 2 Muellner 1976:25. 1
and audience experience mulitiformity in meaningful ways. Given this variation esthetic driving preservation and innovation, it is fitting that the Homeric tradition internally promotes and even idealizes what Gregory Nagy has called an esthetic of rigidity and an esthetic of fluidity. 3 Nagy s analysis shows that Homeric poetry idealizes itself as perfectly rigid, yet simultaneously sees itself as the product of a fluid performance tradition. The formula kléos áphthiton in some sense captures both views of poetry. Scholars have rightfully given attention to this expression of imperishable or unfailing fame, yet the quotations above acknowledge how stories and the glory they convey can be used, rejected, or forgotten. How does glory become and remain imperishable in such a dynamic system? In Pindar s Homer, Nagy observes that alḗtheia, the archaic Greek word for truth, denotes a specialized form of memory, one that utilizes forgetting in order to actively remove stories and themes which are no longer appropriate from the larger mytho-poetic system. 4 Working from the constituent lexical units a- and lēth-, Nagy shows that truth can be conceptualized as the sum of all that is not forgotten and that 3 See Nagy 2009a, chapters 1 and 2. 4 Nagy 1990a:58 60. See also the section of Lévi-Straus cited by Nagy. Lévi-Strauss 1979:153 163, in particular pp. 162 163. 2
it is established and maintained not by actively remembering what is true, but by forgetting what is false. This view of truth fits with our understanding of the process of composition in performance. For instance, Nagy notes Lévi-Strauss s observation that the latest performance of myth is in principle an occasion for selecting from and thereby potentially erasing versions available from countless previous performances. 5 According to this line of thought, the creation of one poetic multiform in performance facilitates the forgetting of multiple others. The process of composition-inperformance allows the oral poet to create truth by excluding from his song the themes and formulae which are found to be less appropriate at the moment of storytelling. While this flexibility helps to preserve the poetic system, over time single themes and formulae will be forgotten. Unlike the imperishable fame (kléos áphthiton) offered to Achilles in the form of the Iliad, some tales of glory will eventually be forgotten and can be conceived of as perishable. In such a light, the creation of imperishable fame is entirely dependent upon perishable fame. The fact that we are still talking about the anger of Achilles and the wanderings of Odysseus certainly suggests that the Homeric poems, from our perspective, can rightfully be labeled imperishable. Yet Parry s revelation that these epics are the 5 Nagy 1990a:60. 3
products of an oral poetic system draws our attention back to a time when the poems were not yet fixed in the form we have inherited. 6 Given the reality that our Iliad and Odyssey are the most privileged multiforms among countless others that have, for the most part, faded into oblivion, the idea of perishable kléos becomes more relevant. Since Parry and Lord, many scholars have managed to reveal and read what Christos Tsagalis beautifully calls the oral palimpsest, and they have found abundant confirmation of other multiforms and traditions still evident to the philologist and specialist. 7 But it remains to be asked, what does the poetic tradition itself have to say about the issue of perishable fame, and what does this evidence suggest about the traditional function and form of poems such as the Iliad and Odyssey? Further, does this internal view of perishable glory support the idea that the Homeric poems are products of an oral tradition? If answers are to be found in the diction of the poems, we need to find a term that might appropriately describe multiforms that were once appropriate and authoritative but eventually proved less than imperishable. The name Empedokles 8, though occurring outside the Homeric tradition, offers valuable and relevant evidence for this discussion by providing another view of poetic 6 On the evolutionary model of the Homeric poems, seen Nagy 1996. 7 Tsagalis 2008. 8 As a parallel consider the name Sophokles, which also joins a second declension adjective with klēs. 4
glory. Derived from the adjective émpedos 9 (usually translated as firm, steadfast, continual ) and the noun kléos, this name hints at a traditional association between the term used by Homeric epic to reference itself and the theme of being steadfast. In part, this work attempts to describe the potential relationship between these two themes and to gain some understanding of what might be appropriately labeled *kléos émpedon. 10 Working from the assumption that diction is the most accurate expression of theme, 11 I have approached these questions by pursuing a close reading of the diction of steadfastness in Homer and Hesiod. Specifically, the heart of this work is a Homeric word study of the adjective émpedos and its prose counterpart asphalḗs, which is typically glossed as not liable to fall, immovable, steadfast. 12 Applying the method 9 From the prefix ἐν-/ἐμ-, in/on, and either the root πεδ-, ποδ-, πους, foot or πέδον, ground. Chantraine derives it from πέδον, s.v. πέδον. 10 The collocation of émpedos and kléos is not attested in extant versions of Homer. Other attested name forms beginning with ἐμπεδο- include Ἐμπεδονίκα, Ἐμπεδοξένῳ, Ἐμπεδοκράτη. Although names might pair nontraditional elements, these names suggest that the term ἔμπεδος is appropriate for expressions of praise. 11 Nagy 1979:1. 12 Liddell-Scott 1996, s.v. ἔμπεδος. To my knowledge, there has not yet been a full-length study of these terms, nor has anyone studied these terms via formulaic analysis. Still, several scholars have considered émpedos while exploring other topics. In his forthcoming Homeric Durability: Telling Time in the Iliad, Lorenzo F. Garcia discusses the transitory nature of being émpedos. I hope to incorporate his analysis in a future edition of my work. Alex Purves also offers a recent scholarly discussion of the word émpedos in Homer with a focus on the concepts of time and falling. In particular, see Purves 5
outlined by Leonard Muellner, I have used formulaic and contextual analysis to work inductively seeking to rebuild the categories of thought and expression from within the epic world, not to impose them from without. 13 This reading is extended through analysis of key passages and themes in related authors and traditions. My guiding questions in this study are as follows: What do émpedos and asphalḗs really mean and what themes do they evoke in context? 14 Is there a relevant collocation of the diction and themes of steadfastness with the diction and themes associated with 2006:191. Froma Zeitlin sees émpedos as a desirable and typically masculine human trait. Yet she notes a certain kind of symmetry in the relationship of Odysseus and Penelope, where the hero must be émpedos, while the heroine must keep everything émpedos. See Zeitlin 1996:29-32. In chapter 5, I argue for a different view of the steadfast nature of this couple. Moreover, I see the pairing of steadfastness in such couples as a traditional compositional technique played out on the macro-narrative level. J.-P. Vernant sees the human condition as unstable in contrast to the émpedos nature of the immortal realm. For the mortal hero, only grave markers and songs of praise remain steadfast after death. For this reading, see Vernant 1991:39-41. On émpedos as a poetic synonym for asphalḗs see my discussion to follow on the D Scholia (4.314.2, 5.254.1 2, 6.352.1) and the following Homeric passage which describes the immortal horses of Achilles: ἀλλ' ὥς τε στήλη μένει ἔμπεδον, ἥ τ' ἐπὶ τύμβῳ / ἀνέρος ἑστήκῃ τεθνηότος ἠὲ γυναικός, / ὣς μένον ἀσφαλέως περικαλλέα δίφρον ἔχοντες. (Iliad 17.434 436). Further, a review of the use of émpedos as attested in the corpus of Greek literature shows that a vast majority of examples come from poetry. 13 Muellner 2007. 14 On the need to rebuild the meaning of Homeric words from scratch in light of the paradigm shift brought about by Parry and Lord and taking into account recent work on Indo-European poetics, see Muellner 2007. I draw special attention to his reading of Nietzsche's description of philology and the inspiration he draws from Emile Benveniste's statement that the study of the Homeric vocabulary is "in its infancy," dans l'enfance. 6
the creation of poetic glory, within epic or beyond the boundaries of that genre? If these themes can be traditionally linked as in the name Empedokles, what does this pairing tell us about the nature of kléos? What does all this imply about the powers of the oral poet and the process of composition in performance? My analysis yields several results. First and foremost, this work posits a more nuanced semantic field for émpedos. Contextual evidence reveals that while this term denotes a steady state in relation to space and/or time and can in fact be glossed as steadfast or continual, émpedos can also express the idea of an uninterrupted sequence. In certain situations this word can even denote ritually appropriate thoughts and behaviors. Formulaic analysis shows that émpedos tends to function in very specific thematic contexts. First, we will see that émpedos and asphalḗs are used to describe the instability of human fortune in contrast to the stability of the cosmic order ruled by Zeus. Second, we will explore the use of émpedos to describe force and intelligence, as well as the parts of the body associated with these heroic traits. When collocated with bíē force, violence, émpedos becomes associated with the stance of warriors remaining firm in battle. With nóos intelligence, consciousness and related diction, émpedos and asphalḗs become associated with a constellation of themes used to describe horses and charioteering including chariot racing and the crucial concept of nóstos. Through 7
rebukes and wishes, we will see that émpedos and asphalḗs offer speakers the opportunity to incite steadfastness in their listeners or recreate their own moments of former glory. On the narrative level, I argue that steadfastness is a concern in Herodotus, Homer, Hesiod and Apollonius of Rhodes, as evidenced by the fact that émpedos and asphalḗs occur time and again at crucial moments. Moreover, these themes can serve as an organizing principle in such works. This becomes evident when looking at the four categories of steadfastness which emerge from this study: 1) subjects that are steady and constant in their motion or action, 2) those that are steadfastly immobile or stable in their state, 3) subjects and actions that are ritually appropriate or uninterrupted in their sequence, and 4) subjects that are involuntarily fixed in place. I argue that the deliberate coupling of these categories, seen in pairings such as Odysseus and Penelope or Jason and Medea, reflects a deeply imbedded tendency to create poetic stability by joining steadfastly static subjects with others that are steadfastly kinetic. In a sense, these different categories of being émpedos can be seen as the warp and weft from which the poetic narrative is woven on the level of micro-narrative as well as on an epic scale. 8
Applying a broader perspective, analysis shows that émpedos and the semantically related asphalḗs display thematic links to the Indo-European root meaning firm, solid, sound. 15 As part of this system, they become associated with the traditional Indo- European concepts of kingship, poetic authority, and truth, and via the formula ἕδος ἀσφαλὲς αἰεί ( ever steadfast seat ) these themes sit at the very foundation of cosmic and divine stability. 16 Yet, as will be shown, even here connotations of potential instability are present and built into the cosmic order. The null category of steadfastness is also relevant to this discussion. In fact, the Homeric presentation of subjects described as not émpedos proves crucial to our understanding of heroic success and poetic fame. Specifically, I hope to show that passages describing the destruction of the Achaean wall are thematically linked to the poet s ability to create (and re-create) steadfast glory. Finally, metrical analysis detailed in the appendix shows that the theme of being émpedos is a traditional one, involved in multiple formulas and formulaic constituents such as ménon émpedon. 17 From our external perspective, evidence suggests that émpedos might describe the formulas and themes, fixed and flexible, which the oral poet weaves 15 Benveniste 1971:256 259. Benveniste proposes *der-w- or *dr-eu as this root. Cf. *deru-, *dreu- and *dher- in Watkins 2000. 16 Martin 2001:65 84. In particular, see his discussion of asphaléōs and related themes in the Audacht Morainn, pp. 72 73. 17 All tables are located in the appendix. 9
together to create his song of praise. Further, I would posit that from our external perspective, *kléos émpedon is a fitting label for the properly sequenced, occasionappropriate, and flexibly steadfast multiform created during an oral poet s performance. If so, the name Empedokles offers a view of fame that is steadfastly fixed, constantly advancing in an unswerving, uninterrupted way, and always appropriate in its sequence and timing. 10
Chapter 1 The Diction of Steadfastness: émpedos and asphalḗs in Homer, Hesiod, and Herodotus 1.1 Preliminary Definitions and Built-in Metaphors ἀλλ' ὥς τε στήλη μένει ἔμπεδον, ἥ τ' ἐπὶ τύμβῳ ἀνέρος ἑστήκῃ τεθνηότος ἠὲ γυναικός, ὣς μένον ἀσφαλέως περικαλλέα δίφρον ἔχοντες but as a grave marker remains steadfast, which upon a tomb of a dead man or woman stands, so they remained steadfastly holding the very beautiful chariot Iliad 17.434 436 Let us begin by establishing working definitions for both émpedos and asphalḗs. The Homeric passage above reveals a traditional relationship between émpedon used adverbially and the adverb asphaléōs from the adjective asphalḗs. In particular, the use above suggests that the terms can sometimes function as synonyms. The D scholia provide evidence in support of this idea. Forms of émpedos are glossed six times in the scholia and these entries generally offer some form of the following three words as 11
explanation: asphalḗs, bébaios, and hedraîos. 18 From this it can be inferred that all four words convey the same basic meaning which might be stated as steadfast, secure. Valuable information can also be gleaned from the relative distribution of these terms throughout both Homeric epic and the ancient Greek corpus. Forms of émpedos occur 58 times in Homer, while forms of asphalḗs are much less frequent: only eight instances throughout both epics, 19 three times collocating with émpedos. 20 Beyond Homer, however, analysis shows that asphalḗs is by far the more common term and most frequently occurs in prose. Furthermore, in the scholia, asphalḗs is used to gloss émpedos, while asphalḗs is generally not glossed, and, if so, is glossed with terms other than émpedos. To my knowledge, the adjectives bébaios, and hedraîos never occur in Homeric epic. Taken all together, this evidence suggests that émpedos might be understood as a poetic synonym for terms such as asphalḗs, bébaios, and hedraîos. Yet, other scholia suggest these words are not absolute synonyms. The following passage, which will be discussed in greater detail further on, reveals the built-in metaphors underlying each word and provides insight into the connotations carried by each term. 18 D scholia at Iliad 4.314, 5.254, 6.352. 19 Iliad 13.141, 15.683, 17.436, 23.325; Odyssey 6.42, 8.171, 13.86, 17.235. Each passage is discussed during the course of this study. 20 Iliad 13.141, 15.683; Odyssey 13.86. 12
ἀσφαλῶς, κυρίως ἐπὶ τῶν μὴ σφαλλομένων, ἐμπέδως δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ ἐρριζωμένων. ἀσφαλῶς properly with reference to not being tripped up/thrown down/overthrown, and ἐμπέδως with reference to things having been rooted firmly in the ground. BQ scholia at Odyssey 13.86 The word émpedos seems to offer connotations of being rooted in the ground (as indicated by the root ῥιζ-) and fixed along what we might understand as a horizontal plane, while asphalḗs can carry with it connotations of things not tripped up and secure along a vertical plane. These connotations are also present in the bt scholia for Iliad 12.9 12 which discuss the use of émpedon. The context here is that the narrator of the poem has prophesied the future destruction of the Achaean wall by saying it would not remain émpedon for long: τὸ δὲ ἔμπεδον οὐκ ἔστιν ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀσφαλές ἐπεπόρθητο γὰρ ὑπὸ Σαρπηδόνος, Ἕκτορος, Ἀπόλλωνος: ἀλλ' ἔμπεδον ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ κείμενον ὕστερον γὰρ ἁλίπλοον ἐγένετο σὺν τοῖς θεμελίοις. émpedon not instead of asphalḗs, for it had been destroyed by Sarpedon, Hector, and Apollo, but instead of τῷ πεδίῳ κείμενον (having been placed on the ground), for later it becomes covered with water along with the foundations. bt scholia at 12.9 12 13
To be clear, this passage says that asphalḗs would be an inappropriate term for describing the visible remains of a wall that had failed, while émpedos would be appropriate in this context. For the moment, I would delay an in-depth discussion of this passage and of what it means to be not émpedos 21 and simply note the distinction being made between these two terms, and that émpedon is being used here to describe something that cannot appropriately be called asphalḗs. Though the scholia provide a useful starting point, analysis of the contexts in which émpedos and asphalḗs appear offers the best evidence for a nuanced understanding of these terms. For convenience, tables have been included (in the appendix) that categorize these examples in a variety of ways. Table 1 outlines all of the objects, characteristics, and activities in Homeric epic that are described as émpedos and Table 2 those that are not émpedos. Within each table I have further organized the list by grouping similar subjects and actions together. Included are terms said to be émpedos through involvement in a simile. For instance, if the epic describes a hero as steadfast like a rock in the ocean, the rock is included in the table. Although my focus is generally on the use of émpedos and asphalḗs in Greek epic, I will also cite examples from other sources, as well as draw attention to passages with 21 For a discussion of the Achaean wall and the theme of being not émpedos, see Chapter 6. 14
related diction and themes. Throughout my analysis, passages will be examined to see how the metaphors inherent in émpedos and asphalḗs emerge to shed light on their use and to see how these metaphors might apply to descriptions of poetic glory. I hope to show that émpedos and asphalḗs are traditionally appropriate terms for describing both the perishable nature of the human condition and the enduring nature of the poems that offer immortal glory as compensation for our mortality. 1.2 Herodotean Concerns Taken as a whole, one might say that the poetics of émpedos holds within its domain all that is fixed and all that is fixed in its movement. Such concepts are not unusual within the Indo-European poetic tradition. For example, two common formulaic descriptions of Indra in the Rig Veda describe him as the lord of all that stands and moves 22 and the god before whom everything firm is afraid. 23 For the Indo- European poet, there is a built-in system for describing a totality, whether the sum of human wealth or the entire cosmos, in terms of what moves and what does not. The poetry of émpedos is, in some sense, built upon this view. Moreover, émpedos is traditionally used to describe and express concerns about the instability and 22 Rig Veda 1.89.5. Quotations from the Rig Veda are taken from the translation of Griffith 1920 1926. 23 Rig Veda 1.58.5, 1.166.5. On the contrast between standing firm and fear, see below. 15
perishability of all human affairs. Such concerns might threaten the very foundation of a mytho-poetic system which values imperishability so highly. On some level, our whole human experience can be categorized into things that are fixed, things that are not, and things that are fixed in their continual and timely renewal. Such are the sentiments so poignantly expressed in Glaucos generation of men speech (Iliad 6.144-149). The idea that human experience is inherently unstable is also expressed in the prose of Herodotus. His use of émpedos, asphalḗs, and related themes suggests that his public demonstration is in part designed to express and help alleviate traditional concerns about the perishable and variable nature of human existence. Thus, through Herodotus we can gain a greater understanding of what is at stake and possible solutions. One key passage describes the last-minute intercession of Cyrus on behalf of Croesus. Although Croesus once considered himself the most fortunate of men, at this point in the micro-narrative, he is about to be burned alive.... Καὶ τὸν Κῦρον ἀκούσαντα τῶν ἑρμηνέων τὰ Κροῖσος εἶπε, μεταγνόντα τε καὶ ἐννώσαντα ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐὼν ἄλλον ἄνθρωπον, γενόμενον ἑωυτοῦ εὐδαιμονίῃ οὐκ ἐλάσσω, ζώοντα πυρὶ διδοίη, πρός τε τούτοισι δείσαντα τὴν τίσιν καὶ ἐπιλεξάμενον ὡς οὐδὲν εἴη τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποισι ἀσφαλέως ἔχον, κελεύειν σβεννύναι τὴν ταχίστην τὸ καιόμενον πῦρ καὶ καταβιβάζειν Κροῖσόν τε καὶ τοὺς μετὰ Κροίσου. 16